Two workers killed in West Kordofan’s oil field

September 27, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – Two oil workers were killed by a wanted person on Tuesday in Baleela oilfield, West Kordofan state, said official sources.

A source within Petro Energy, a Chinese/Sudanese oil company operating in Baleela oilfield, said the killing incident occurred in the area of Kyi while the two engineers were conducting their daily tour around the oilfields.

The two victims, Mohanad Mustafa Saad and Mohamed Shiekh Idriss, are oil engineers at the production and development department at Petro Energy.

He added that the victims were killed while they were driving a car, pointing the fate of the vehicle is yet to be determined.

According to the source, Petro Energy has dispatched a private jet to Baleela oilfield to transport the bodies of the victims to Khartoum.

Meanwhile, official sources told Sudan Tribune that the perpetrator is a wanted person, saying the police on Monday raided a house in Al-Fula area where he was hiding but he evaded arrest.

According to the sources, the culprit arrived in Baleela area on Tuesday, saying he fired at two engineers in the oilfield without an apparent reason and ran away.

The same source stressed the police is pursuing the perpetrator, expecting that he would be arrested soon.

Petro Energy workers’ union has mourned the slain engineers, saying they were killed “in cold blood at the hands of sinful criminals while they were performing their duty”.

The workers’ union vowed to exert every possible effort alongside the concerned bodies to capture the culprits and bring them to justice.

West Kordofan is the home of Misseriya tribe and where are located the largest oil fields in Sudan including Heglig, Dafra, Canar, Baleela, Neem, Bursaia and West Al-Fula.

The state had witnessed several killings and kidnappings of foreign and local oil workers by rebel groups and tribesmen in the past few years.

(ST)